On Sunday, October 6th, officers responded to the 900 block of S. Market Street on report of a breaking or entering call. Upon their arrival, they made contact with the victim who advised that a suspect had busted the glass out of a window of their vehicle and done extensive damage to the dashboard of it.
Contact was also made with a witness to the crime who saw the suspect run from the scene towards River Street. Officers then started canvassing the area for the suspect when they received a call of a suspicious person in the area of W. Hazel Street. They responded to the area of W. Hazel St. and eventually located the suspect, later identified as Eric Cooper (32 YOA), on Spangle Street.
After conducting an investigation, it was determined through evidence and witness statements that Cooper was the suspect in the incident. Cooper was subsequently placed under arrest and transported to the Saline County Detention Facility for processing. He is charged with Breaking or Enter and Criminal Mischief 1st Degree (Felony).
This is an example of how being alert and notifying us of suspicious activity can pay dividends, and help bring those responsible for crimes to justice. The neighborhood watch program is an excellent example of how this can work and provide a mechanism for watching out for each other.
Anyone with information about this crime is encouraged to contact the Benton Police Department at 778-1171 or 315-TIPS. Individuals also may send an anonymous crime tip about this incident to CRIMES (274637) with the keyword BNPD in the body of the text or go to www.crimereports.com to leave a tip.
Any suspects listed are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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